Written question asked by Edward Leigh (Conservative) on Wednesday, 25 March 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 31 March 2009. It was answered by Bill Rammell (Labour) on Tuesday, 31 March 2009 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on policy on withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq.

Answer: The draw-down of UK combat troops from Iraq will begin on 31 May 2009, and will be completed by 31 July. The draw-down, which has been agreed with the Iraqi Government, represents a fundamental change of mission as we move to a normal bilateral defence assistance relationship.From 31 July 2009 we will retain up to 400 troops focused on training and mentoring their Iraqi counterparts.The US has its own plans, as do other Coalition allies.

Secondary information